Elysium Tribal Blog

Get 50% off your entire order from our Costuming Boutique when you enter the discount code: HalfPrice Fine print: the discount code does not apply to Gift Certificates or Class Passes, because they are not Costuming Boutique merchandise. Seems obvious but ya never know...

Join us Sunday, July 23rd from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, for an Introductory dance workshop presented in conjunction with Quilt of Belonging exhibit at the Cotton Factory. The impressive work of textile art has a similar mission as American Tribal Style® dance! The goal is to recognize diversity, celebrate our common humanity and promote harmony among people.

During our introductory workshop, you'll enjoy an exciting performance and hear a brief history of the dance form. Then join in as we break down a number of basic movements for you to try! From graceful hand floreos to knock out hip shimmies, you'll be moving to the music in no time! We will end the workshop with a large group dance as a lively celebration of your new, found skills. No experience necessary!

There is a participants fee for the workshop of just $5! Pre-registration is required so please get your tickets in advance by following the link below.

Peace by Piece: Stitching Together Canadian StoriesThe Quilt of Belonging exhibit and all scheduled workshops will take place on the third floor. The entire exhibition schedule and related programming can be foundhere.

The Quilt of Belonging is a gorgeous portrait of the human family. At 120 feet long, the collaborative project contains 263 blocks which portray the cultural legacies of all the First Peoples in Canada and every nation of the world at the dawn of the new Millennium.

It took over 6 years for volunteers to find a representative from each of the 263 cultural groups on the quilt. The inaugural exhibition of the completed project took place April 1st, 2005 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and it has been touring the globe ever since then.

American Tribal Style® dance: a set vocabulary of movements and system of non-verbal cues that allows a group of dancers to improvise a performance... it can easily be mistaken for a choreography!American: because the dance form was developed in the late 1980's at the FatChanceBellyDance® studio in San Francisco, California.Tribal Style: because it combines elements of Egyptian bellydance and Flamenco with traditional dance movements from tribal people living in Northern Africa, India and Central Asia.

Every year American Tribal Style® dancers from around the world gather together for three days of intensive workshops called the ATS® Homecoming. During the participants showcase, dancers from thirteen FatChanceBellyDance® Sister Studios, including Elysium Tribal, perform here as the 'Lone Wolves' troupe. The music and costuming choices were selected ahead of time, but many of the dancers had never met before the event. With no time to rehearse prior to the show, we confidently walked onto the stage and let the magic of group improvisation take over!

This edited musical clip contains a portion of "Nefertari's Dream" by Phil Thornton and Hossam Ramzy. (available on iTunes)

Come to our Studio Open House in celebration of Hamilton Arts Week! Join us on Wednesday June 7th from 7:30 to 9:00 pm for dance performances and a free class. Elysium Tribal is Hamilton's first and only dance studio to specialize in American Tribal Style® bellydance. Feel welcomed into our gorgeous studio and let it become your dance haven! American Tribal Style® bellydance is naturally inclusive, supportive, intuitive and joyful. If these qualities appeal to you, your tribe is waiting for you!

Enjoy Open House Performances: The evening will begin with the Elysium Tribal Advance Class students performing to a few songs especially for you!Take a Free Class: Then it's time for you to get moving! Claim a spot on the dance floor to discover a few foundation moves like graceful hand floreos and knock out shimmies. Based on group improvisation, it's just like a game of follow the leader. It's a workout for your body and your brain and by the end of the night you'll be moving right along side the dance troupe ladies!

Please note that space is limited and an accurate headcount is required. Please RSVP to info@ElysiumTribal.com in order to attend! You will receive a confirmation email with studio details and parking info etc.

Elysium Tribal is donating all proceeds from new student class cards to Hamilton Food Share!

Did you know that food bank donations are at their lowest during the summer? The Every Plate Full campaign is an annual Food Banks Canada fundraiser to help provide for hungry families. For every $5 donated, our local food bank Hamilton Food Share, is able to buy $25 worth of products from local farmers! Your contributions doubly benefit our community!

Join our new Beginner Class on Thursday nights @ 7 pm. Buy your Class Card online before June 8th and the entire value will be donated to the cause!

The Mixup is a monthly performance event for artists and non-artists to come together and share their work! Each performer gets 10 minutes of fame. Elysium Tribal is dancing because our juggling skills suck!May 25th - Doors & cafe open @ 7 pm - Show @ 8 pm.Food and drinks available throughout the show!$5 cash at the door.This month, all our proceeds will be going to the Every Plate Full food bank fundraiser (IATSE Local 828 team). Our goal for this year’s campaign is $1000. Help us get there!https://foodbankscanada.akaraisin.com/pledge/Team/Home.aspx?seid=14322&mid=75&tid=131079None of our neighbours should have to go hungry this summer.Food bank donations are lowest during the summer and every dollar that Hamilton Food Share receives buys $5 of food! Hamilton Food Share uses our dollars to buy food from local farmers, so our donations doubly support our community!

If you're out and about on Saturday, swing by Confederation Park! From Noon to 5 pm there will be plenty of musicians doing their thing, (including our pals Troupe Obskurah) and plenty of dancers doing our thing! It's an afternoon of casual family friendly fun and at the end of the day we'll parade Saint Sara e Kali into the waters!

A celebration of the Hamilton bellydance scene is held every month at the Casbah at 306 King St W. Dancers in the May 13th line up were treated to a packed audience and lively applause. Elysium Tribal was joined by our pal Sherry from Tribe Maya Fire to show off the improvisational fun of American Tribal Style® bellydance and a good time was had by all! Upcoming shows in 2017 at the Casbah are scheduled for the following Saturdays: June 10, July 8, August 12, October 21 and November 18. Doors are at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $15 cash at the door. Make plans to attend!

We're laying down our dance floor and bringing you ALL the shimmies! We'll be joined by other Hamilton based bellydance studios to showcase a non-stop lineup of dancing from 6 to 10 pm. The ladies of Elysium Tribal will be joined by Leanna from BellaDance and Julie from BellyFlow. Our talented musician friends from Troupe Obskurah will also be on hand for some live beats! We are aiming to set up in front of the Bank of Montreal on James St N, just south of Barton. Drop by and see what's shaking!

Wild Orchid Belly Dance Studio is celebrating their 10th anniversary with a fantastic show at the Spice Factory! The ladies of Elysium Tribal are really thrilled to be included in the line up and encourage everyone to come on out for an evening of great dancing!Doors @ 7:30pm - Show @ 8:00pmWhile you're there, have a drink from the cash bar and pick up something pretty from one of the various dance studio vendors...like Elysium Tribal!Tickets are $15 + a non-perishable food item and kids under 12 get in free. Advanced tickets are highly recommended and can be purchased by e-transfer to wildorchiddance@gmail.com. Food donations can be dropped off at Wild Orchid Belly Dance Studio (72 Wise Crescent, Hamilton) or at the show. Proceeds / donations will go to Mountain Kidz Klub, a non-profit organization offering low cost programs for children and adults, as well as a food bank.

American Tribal Style® bellydance is naturally inclusive, supportive, intuitive and joyful. If these qualities appeal to you, your tribe is waiting for you!Learn our standard vocabulary of movements along with a system of non verbal cues. By reading each others body language, we can communicate with each other while moving to the music as a single unit. Improvisational dance fosters a sense of community where we must be present in the moment. It is a workout for your body and your brain and now is the time for you to discover how much fun it can be!Join our Beginner Class this Thursday night,March 16th @ 7 pm. Register now with the online purchase of a Class Pass.

It's a blurry little snapshot of a fantastic evening that made my heart sing. Look at all those smiling faces! This is a moment from my impromptu duet with Sherry from Tribe Maya Fire to live music by Troupe Obskurah at BellyUp's Because I am a Girl Fundraiser on International Women's Day. Even though we're in different troupes, Sherry and I speak the same dance language! Improvisation at its best... the lively music played and we let ourselves be taken over by it!

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you weren't able to attend school....simply because you're a girl? That is a sad reality many girls are facing in some developing countries. Let's see what we can do to change that! Plan International's "Because I am A Girl" initiative is a fantastic program that is working to empower girls around the world through improving access to education. Please join us Wednesday March 8th at BellyUp BellyDance studio in Oakville for a fundraising event to benefit the girls! Enjoy an evening of dance performances, snacks and raffle prizes! Advanced tickets are available here: https://bellyup.ca/?q=content/all-about-girls-fundraiser THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Check out these versatile belt bases that are new to the costuming boutique! They are covered in shiny rows of domed turkoman buttons, old kuchi coins and embossed metal amulets. Add a couple ties to them for a basic tribal style bellydance hip belt. Attach a pair of beaded medallions to the ends for a fancier look or to increase the overall length if need be. If you are crafty, cut them up into pieces to decorate a tribal bellydance bra!

Many times I've used belt bases to make matching tribal style bellydance bra and belt sets. I've found there is usually enough textile to divide into three pieces. Two strips can be used to edge both bra cups and the remainder can be made into a front panel for a two part hip belt which ties on the sides. I have one favorite back panel with some pretty fantastic tassels on it. Then I have a number of front panels to match every one of my bras. Super coordinated!

I was thrilled to perform for the third year running, the annual ATS® Homecoming conference in San Francisco. The ladies joining me are all FatChanceBellyDance® Sister Studios, like Elysium Tribal. We come from all over the world, some of us have met before and some are complete strangers...but we speak a common language in our dance! We agree on a piece of music in advance, then at the conference, we'll meet up to plan how we will enter and exit the stage. All that is left is to get into our dance gear and hit the stage. No choreo, just awesome group improv! Special thanks to Carrie from The Dancers Eye for the lovely photo!

Register now for our Thursday night class from 7 to 8 pm, starting January 26th.

You will learn a standard vocabulary of movements along with a system of non verbal cues. By reading our body language, we are able to communicate with each other while dancing to the music as a synchronized unit. We work co-cooperatively so the entire group shines!

The dance form is naturally inclusive, supportive, intuitive and joyful. If these qualities appeal to you, your tribe is waiting for you!

Everything in the Elysium Tribal Costuming Boutique is on sale! Enter the discount code: Holiday2016 to receive 20% off your order, now until December 31st, 2016. (Please note, this discount is not applicable to the purchase of Class Cards or Gift Certificates.)

Earlier this year I did a photo shoot with Jason Stevens Photography. Here is a cropped version of my favorite shot that will soon be made into new postcards and other promotional materials for the studio!

June 10, 2016: We're throwing down the dance floor for another bellydance showcase at the Art Crawl! Elysium Tribal Bellydance Studio will be dancing throughout the evening along with performers from other local bellydance studios. This month, we'll feature the lovely ladies from Belly Flow Fitness, Leanna BellaDance and Mahasti - The Bellydance Emporium. Look for us in front of the BMO on James at Barton, from 6 to 10 pm.

This beautiful collection of words appeared to me on a social media site today. The speaker, Crystal Pite, is a celebrated Canadian choreographer and dancer. Her words are powerful, meaningful and ever so true.

"Dance disappears almost at the moment of its manifestation. It is the extreme expression of the present, a perfect metaphor for life. Dancers sculpt space in real time, working inside a form that is constantly in a state of vanishing. We have no artifacts. I find it strangely beautiful to be creating something that is made of us - made of our breath and blood and bones and minds. Something that is made of the space we occupy and made of the space between us. We embody both the dance and its disappearance."

May 13, 2016: We're throwing down a dance floor and showing you ALL the shimmies! Elysium Tribal Bellydance Studio will be dancing throughout the evening along with performers from other local bellydance studios. This month, we have dancers joining us from BellyFlow Fitness, Leanna BellaDance and Mahasti - The Bellydance Emporium. Our talented musician friends Troupe Obskurah will provide us with some live music too! Don't miss it!

We're aiming to set up in front of the Bank of Montreal building on James St just south of Barton. Keep your eyes on Facebook for updates on the day just in case something changes!

Sew Hungry 2016 was a hit! Many thanks to our dance fans, dance friends, dance students and dance husbands for your unwavering support...it was great to see you all. Special thanks to Aloft Registered Massage Therapy for the invitation to share your sidewalk.

Elysium Tribal has your Friday night dinner and dancing plans sorted! We've teamed up with our friends at Aloft Registered Massage Therapy for the Sew Hungry street festival. From 4 to 8 pm, the Ottawa St shopping district will be chock full of food trucks, fantastic merchants and entertainment. Come see us perform at the corner of Ottawa at Barton and enjoy a mini chair massage too!

Aloft Registered Massage Therapy is newly located at 327 Ottawa St N, Unit 208. Whatever your aches or pains may be, Maureen can fix you right up! Make plans to enjoy some dinner & dancing and welcome Aloft Registered Massage Therapy to the neighborhood!